New vice-finance minister speaks out

Vice Finance Minister Yang Tze-kaing (楊子江) took office yester-day, vowing to build the nation into a capital-raising hub in the Asia-Pacific region by developing its investment banking sector.

"Taiwan should take pride in its financial talent, whose professional expertise can help the banking sector diversify financial services, aside from focusing on consumer banking," Yang told a press conference yesterday afternoon.

"Taiwan's investment-banking sector should have the potential to become the third-most important in the region, after their US and European counterparts," Yang said.

The banking sector should become as internationalized as the nation's manufacturing sector, Yang said. He also emphasized that Taiwanese banks should further develop corporate banking services in order to facilitate the financing needs China-based Taiwanese businesspeople.

The banker-turned-official yesterday vowed to do his best in fulfilling his official duties and assisting Minister of Finance Lin Chuan (林全) with financial reforms.

Yang, former president of China Development Industrial Bank (開發工銀), said he hopes to contribute his experiences at China Development -- in commercial and investment banking as well as venture-capital -- to help strengthen the banking sector's competitiveness.